U.S. patent number 4,883,974 [Application Number 07/191,097] was granted by the patent office on 1989-11-28 for vehicular door multiplexing system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to United Technologies Automotive, Inc.. Invention is credited to David V. Tinder.
United States Patent |
4,883,974 |
Tinder |
November 28, 1989 |
Vehicular door multiplexing system
Abstract
An automotive vehicle having a number of electrical components,
particularly in the driver's door, with the electrical components
powered by the main DC power contained in the main body of the
vehicle. A number of relatively low power DC components and
relatively high power DC components are in the door, with a main
multiplexing unit located in the main vehicle body and a remote
multiplexing unit electrically connected to the main multiplexing
unit but located in the door, the two multiplexing units being
electrically connected together by wiring extending across the
hinge gap. A low power control unit is also located in the door
controlled by the remote multiplexing unit, the DC power to the low
power unit being directly supplied through it through wiring
totally contained in the door, while the DC power to the high power
unit is directly supplied from the main multiplexing unit in the
vehicle body through the wiring extending across the hinge gap.
Additionally at least two reversible DC motors are in the door,
with a maximum of three electrical wires connected to the motors, a
common wire connected across one side of each of the motors, and
two separate, isolated wires connected to the other sides of the
motors, all three wires being connected to one of the multiplexing
units, DC power being supplied independently to the DC motors. A
number of logic rules are programmed into the system to establish a
series of precedent actions.
Inventors: |
Tinder; David V. (Dearborn,
MI) |
Assignee: |
United Technologies Automotive,
Inc. (Dearborn, MI)
|
Family
ID: |
22704133 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/191,097 |
Filed: |
May 6, 1988 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
307/10.1;
307/38 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R
16/027 (20130101); B60R 16/0315 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B60R
16/02 (20060101); H02J 001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;307/1R,38,10.1
;318/49,54-58,112,293,280,283 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Shoop, Jr.; William M.
Assistant Examiner: Logan; Sharon D.
Claims
Having thus described at least one exemplary embodiment of the
invention, that which is new and desired to be secured by Letters
Patent is claimed below:
1. A vehicle having a main body, a main DC power source contained
in the body, at least one door movably attached to the body of the
vehicle to open and close with an attachment gap between them, a
number of electrical components in the door with the electrical
components powered by the main DC power source, comprising:
at least one relatively low power DC electrical component and at
least one relatively high power DC electrical component in the
door;
a main multiplexing unit located in the main vehicle body;
a remote multiplexing unit electrically connected to said main
multiplexing unit but located in the door, the two multiplexing
units being electrically connected together by wiring extending
across the hinge gap; and
a low power control unit also located in the door associated with
and controlled by said remote multiplexing unit, the DC power from
the main DC power source to the low power unit being directly
supplied through said low power control unit in the door through
wiring totally contained in the door, while the DC power from the
main power source to the high power unit is directly supplied from
said main multiplexing unit in the vehicle body through the wiring
extending across the attachment gap.
2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said low power component draws a
maximum of about three amps, while the high power component draws a
minimum of about nine amps.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to automotive multiplexing systems
for controlling and/or powering various electrical components
included in an automotive door including, for example, powered door
locks, power windows, powered side rear-view mirrors, door curb
locks, lighted key door locks, door curb lights, audio speakers,
seat positioning controls, etc. The present invention further
relates to such a system which includes a remote multiplexing unit
within at least the front door on the driver's side of the
vehicle.
BACKGROUND ART
As the number of electrical components in the doors of the vehicle
have increased, the number of wires for transmitting the electrical
system have likewise increased. This has resulted in a relatively
large bundle of individual wires, particularly for the front doors
and even more particularly for the driver's door, each of which
wires needed to be interconnected between the doors and the main
body of the motor vehicle. Additionally, it has added to the number
of wires that must be run in the door itself and appropriately
interconnected.
Such systems for the front door on the driver's side having a
substantial number of electrical components including, for example,
powered door locks, power windows, powered side rear-view mirrors,
lighted key door locks, door curb lights, audio speakers, seat
positioning controls, etc. have involved, for example, twenty-four
or fifty-three or perhaps even in excess of eighty or more separate
wires in non-multiplexed systems. This relatively large number of
wires were bundled together to form a relative large diameter
bundle which was snaked from an opening in the "A" pillar of the
vehicle body into the proximal edge of the door frame.
Such wiring bundles have been relatively difficult to handle,
relatively expensive and required special routing in order to avoid
over-stressing or undue flexing of the wire bundle, which could
damage and break one or more of the individual wires within the
bundle, particularly those in the outer areas of the bundle.
For a separate, wiring solution to this problem, reference is had
to assignee's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.
07/191,089, of J. Wright, filed on even date herewith, entitled
"Electrical Planar Cable Interconnection Between Automotive Door
and Body", the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
Additionally, the wiring aspects and electronic module aspects of
the present invention lend themselves well for use in association
with modular door panel sub-assemblies. With respect to such a
sub-assembly approach and for further information on exemplary
modular door panel sub-assembly operations and structures,
reference is had to assignee's co-pending U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 06/097,555 of R. Basson et al, filed Sept. 15, 1987,
entitled "Modular Trim Panel Unit For Motor Vehicle Doors," the
disclosure of which also is incorporated herein by reference.
Multiplexing systems for automotive use for controlling and/or
powering various electrical components in various locations within
a car or other vehicle, including the doors, have been in use for
some time, and these have had some tendency to cut down on the
number of wires across the hinge gap. Some such systems have also
included one or more remote multiplexing or "remux" units
associated with a main multiplexing unit in the vehicle body.
However, these prior art approaches still have not been totally
satisfactory in, for example, the number of wires that still have
to be run, for example, in the doors.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present invention is directed, inter alia, to reducing the
number of wires which need to extend from the main power source of
the vehicle in the body of the vehicle to the doors, particularly,
the front door on the driver's side, and/or to reduce the number of
wires that need to be run in the doors themselves, using remote
multiplexing and wiring techniques to minimize as much as practical
or desirable the total number of wires.
Thus, the present invention is directed to an automotive door
multiplexing system utilizing a relatively small number of wires,
even for highly powered doors, reducing, for example, the number of
wires from an exemplary twenty-four to an exemplary eleven or fewer
wires; even for a door which includes among its powered components,
for example, powered door locks, power windows, powered side
rear-view mirrors, door curb locks, lighted key door locks, door
curb lights, audio speakers, seat positioning controls, etc.
The present invention achieves this desired result in one aspect of
the invention by preferably including within the door a remote
multiplexing or "remux" unit and providing various functional,
programming assumptions or rules for its associated micro-processor
controller and signal processors, exemplary ones of which rules are
outlined and detailed hereinafter.
Additionally, unlike the approaches of the prior art, the present
invention's use of a local power control module or "remux" and
appropriate functional assumptions, as needed, allows, for example,
the powering of two, separate reversible motors from only three
conductors. With this local multiplexing and associated
arrangements, the instantaneous polarity of every power conductor
switched by the electronic system is known and controlled by the
system.
Likewise, four separate reversible motors can be controlled with a
five wire matrix. This three wire control of two motors and/or five
wire control of four motors prevents, for example, simultaneous
operation of pairs of motors in certain combinations of direction.
For example, a powered mirror could be tilted in a
northeast-southwest direction continuously but in a
northwest-southeast direction only by stepping two motors
alternatively. This sort of restriction does not detract
significantly from the operation of the complete door system,
particularly since the multiplex system provides design latitude in
assigning priorities, delays, etc., to control commands.
Of course, as in most, if not all, designs, certain compromises are
required, and the system may be altered to meet the particular
needs of any particular car or vehicle design. Thus, the inclusion
of a local power control module in the door may cause some space
conflict with some door designs and may require some heat-sinking.
In other designs, these aspects create no problems or are
nonexistent.
In the invention a number of different approaches are possible.
Several of them include the following.
One approach is to utilize electrical components in the door being
controlled from the power control module in the main car body. In
this approach, the number of wires crossing the hinge gap can be
limited to, for example, thirteen, by extending the concept of
controlling two motors with three wires to having all the
electrical loads share a common return lead. This is contrary to
traditional circuits, where the return lead always has the some
polarity, normally the body ground potential. This approach of the
invention utilizes a common lead which is switched back and forth
from positive to negative potential by the power control
module.
A further approach is to use components in the door which are
controlled jointly by the main control module in the car body and a
low power control unit in the door, with the low power control unit
controlling relatively low power components and the main control
module still controlling the relatively high power components or
combined systems. This arrangement reduces the number of wires
crossing the hinge gap to, for example, eleven. With a power
control module in each front door, the wiring can be reduced to,
for example, nine wires crossing the hinge gap, and even this can
be reduced to, for example, eight if, for example, the curb and key
lock lamps are controlled by the power control module in the door
rather than from the car body.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present
invention will become more apparent from the following description
and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the exemplary circuitry and
multiplexing components used in an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention utilizing eleven wires, including two for the
audio speaker wires, across the hinge gap to control and/or power a
relatively large number of components located in the vehicle's
doors, particularly the front doors, including a local "remux" unit
and an associated low power unit in each of the front doors;
while
FIG. 1A is a close-up, detail view of the remux module and its
associated electronic or electrical components and their associated
wiring contained in the door trim panel module for the vehicle.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
As illustrated in the schematic of FIG. 1, if a part of the
multiplexing system of the vehicle's electrical system is included
within the driver's door 3 in the form of a remote multiplexing
module or "remux" 30, a total of, for example, only eleven wires
11, including two for the audio speaker 33, are necessary, even for
a highly powered driver's door, to be extended from the driver's or
left front door 3, for interconnection into the main electrical
system. This interconnection is achieved by means of the individual
body wires 9 in the vehicle body 7.
The door electrical components can include, for example,
electrically powered windows having for the driver's window the
reversible drive motor 31 and window switch array controls 38,
having a series of user operated "on/off" switches, not only for
the adjacent window, but also for the other windows, as well as
other door components; a reversible, powered door lock actuator 32;
audio speaker 33; a curb lamp 39; a key lock light 40 actuated by
the exterior handle switch 41; even a powered, heated, side
rear-view mirror having a heater 34, a reversible vertical movement
motor 35 and a reversible horizontal movement motor 36 associated
with position sensing potentiometers 37; and a low power control or
switching unit 42. The low power control unit 42 acts like a bunch
of switches under the control of the remux unit 30. The various
reversible motors used in the system typically are DC motors with
permanent magnetic fields, which motors are reversible to, for
example run the powered window(s) up and down, and to lock and
unlock the door(s), with the direction of movement determined by
the polarity of the DC power applied to the motor.
Thus, as noted, in the exemplary schematic shown in FIG. 1, the
exemplary circuit uses only nine electrical wires 11, along with
two audio speaker wires, extending from the door 3 to the main
vehicle body 7 across the hinge gap. This "across-the-hinge-gap"
wiring can be in the form, for example, of a planar cable array,
using mating end connectors 5A, 5B, at the "A" pillar, as described
in some detail in the co-pending Wright application referred to
above.
The number of wires 11 going across the hinge gap can be varied,
depending on, for example, circuitry changes, electrical components
and programming logic, as explained more fully below. Additionally
exemplary components could include seat positioning controls,
located for example in the switch array 38.
The wiring and components for the driver's or left front door 3 can
be duplicated in the right front (RF) door and interconnected, as
illustrated. The left rear (LR) and right rear (RR) doors typically
include fewer components and controls. For example, they can each
include, as illustrated in FIG. 1 for the left rear door, separate
power motors for the associated window regulator and door lock for
the door and with two separate switches to control them, as well as
a curb light. The components of each rear door are connected
through six wires to the rear remux unit 43 and its associated low
power control unit 44, which in turn are interconnected to the
switch controls in the front doors, all as illustrated.
The six internal, body wires 9AA-AF coming off of the main or door
seat multiplexing unit, from top to bottom as illustrated in FIG.
1, can contain the following power and signal lines, as outlined
below:
______________________________________ Wire Signal
______________________________________ 9AA Ground 9AB 12 V+ 9AC
Data 9AD Clock 9AE 5 V- 9AF 5 V+
______________________________________
The lines or wires 9AA and 9AB provide grounded battery power
shared with all of the other systems which are electrically
powered, while 9AE and 9AF are used only for the multiplexing
controllers 30, etc., contained in the front doors (LF and RF), the
main or door seat multiplexing unit, which contains a programmable
micro-processor or CPU (central processing unit) 50 with associated
signal processors, and the rear remote multiplexing or "remux" unit
43. However, if desired, instrument panel functions can be added to
the multiplexed system. Lines 9AC and 9AD provide data and clock
signals, respectively, for the multiplexing units.
As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the remux unit 30 includes a
total of four lines 11AF-AC, which are connected to the lines
9AF-AC, respectively, through the mated connectors 5A/5B. These
lines form the signaling portion of the multiplexing system,
providing control for the system, and, as can be seen in the
schematic, likewise extend to all of the multiplexing units through
interconnecting wiring in the car body.
Lines 11AB and 11AA are connected to lines 9AB and 9AA,
respectively, and provide battery power to the low power control
unit 42. The low power unit 42, which can be included on the same
circuit board as the remux unit 30, serves basically as a switching
system, to power and control all of the electrical components
located to its left in the schematic, namely components 34-37 and
39-41, through wires 54A-F. These components are all relatively low
power components, with the mirror motors 35 and 36 drawing, for
example, only a half amp. Restricting the power lines 11AB and 11AA
to only relatively low power components diminishes, if not
eliminates, the need for any heat sinking in the door. A door, of
course, is poorly suited for dissipation of any significant,
internally generated heat, having relatively little extra internal
room and very limited access to the ambient.
In contrast, the relatively high power components or systems, such
as the window motor 31 and the door lock actuator 32, of which
there are a total of four connected together in parallel in a four
door vehicle, are powered directly from the main multiplexing unit
located in the vehicle body 7. Being in the interior of the
vehicle, of course, which has more room and better access to the
ambient, allows the main multiplexing unit to better handle heat
sinking and heat dissipation.
With respect to power, for example, the window motor 31 draws about
a relatively high ten amps. Likewise, while each individual door
actuator draws, for example, only about three amps, when all four
of them are actuated together, resulting in them being concurrently
powered, the powered door lock system totally draws a relatively
high current of, for example, twelve amps. Of course, the greater
the amperage for a given resistance, the greater will be the heat
generated--by a factor based on the amperage squared.
It should be noted that line 54E is connected across one side of
all of those components through connection or junction 51. This
provides a common lead to both of the reversible mirror motors 35
and 36, with the other sides of those motors being connected to
lines 54B and 54D, respectively, back to the low power unit 42.
Such a common lead situation also occurs with respect to the
reversible motors 31 and 32 by means of common line 52 going to the
main multiplexing unit; and also with respect to the reversible
motors for the window and the door lock in the left rear door (LR)
by means of the common line 53 going to the rear remux unit 43.
With this multiplexing arrangement, the instantaneous polarity of
every power conductor switched by the electronic system is known
and controlled by the system using certain rules of precedents.
This three wire hookup, with the common wire or lead used to switch
the polarity of the DC power to the motor, is in contrast to the
four separate wires used in the prior art to control such
reversible motors.
Likewise, in a similar fashion, four separate reversible motors can
be controlled with a five wire matrix. This three wire control of
two motors and five wire control of four motors prevents
simultaneous operation of pairs of motors in certain combinations
of direction. For example, a powered mirror could be tilted in a
northeast-southwest direction continuously but in a
northwest-southeast direction only by stepping two motors
alternatively. This sort of restriction does not detract
significantly from the operation of the complete door system,
particularly since the multiplex system provides design latitude in
assigning priorities, delays, etc., to control commands.
In order to achieve this relatively low number of wires, as
compared to the relatively high number of wires in the prior art,
certain techniques of the invention are necessary and used,
including the exemplary logic rules outlined below, which provide
selected precedents of action. These logic rules are programmed
into the electronic controller and signal processors 50 of the main
multiplexing unit through appropriate software to provide the
appropriate electrical signals to the various multiplexing
units.
Exemplary Functional, Programming Rules
(1) Locking doors can interrupt the lowering of any window.
(2) Locking doors can not be interrupted by the lowering of any
window.
(3) Doors can lock simultaneously with the upward motion of any
window.
(4) Doors can unlock simultaneously with the downward motion of any
window.
(5) Unlocking doors can not be interrupted by the raising of any
window.
(6) The raising of any window can not be interrupted by unlocking
doors.
(7) Only one window at a time can be moved (protection for the
common line power field effect transistor or "FET").
(8) The driver's door lock and unlock commands, that is commands
from the left front ("LF") door 3, cancel any conflicting commands
from the right front door ("RF").
(9) The driver's window commands can interrupt any window commands
from RF, the left rear door ("LR"), and/or the right rear door
("RR").
(10) The driver's window commands do not block any conflicting
commands from RF, LR, and/or RR.
(11) Alternatively driver's window commands may cancel any
conflicting commands from RF, LR or RR.
(12) The driver's window commands can not be interrupted by window
commands from RF, LR, and/or RR.
(13) Window commands from RF, LR, or RR can not be interrupted by a
second window command from RF, LR, and/or RR.
(14) The driver's first window command can not be interrupted by
any second window command from LF.
(15) Window motors and mirror motors 31, 35-36, etc., will have
dynamic braking.
(16) Door lock actuators 32, etc., will not have dynamic
braking.
(17) When any door is open, all four curb lamps 39, etc., both key
lock lamps (40 and the RF light analogous thereto), and the dome
lamp (not illustrated) will be illuminated with the exceptions
noted below.
(18) Neither rear curb lamps will be illuminated, while any doors
are being unlocked or any window is moving down.
(19) Left front curb and key lock lamps or lights 39, 40 will not
be illuminated, while the left side rear-view mirror is moving down
or right under the actions of the motors 35, 36, respectively.
(20) Right front curb and key lock lamps (those comparable to
lights 39, 40) will not be illuminated, while the right side
rear-view mirror is moving down or right under the actions of the
motors analogous to the motors 35, 36, respectively.
(21) If the memory position for a mirror is above and to the right
of the starting position, as sensed by the resistive units 37,
memory logic will first tilt the mirror upward to the memory limit
through the vertical motor 35, etc., and then tilt the mirror to
the right through the horizontal motor 36, etc., until it reaches
the memory position.
(22) If the memory position for a mirror is below and to the left
of the starting position, as sensed by the resistive units 37,
memory logic will first tilt the mirror to the left to the memory
limit through the vertical motor 35, etc., and then tilt the mirror
downward through the horizontal motor 36, etc., until it reaches
the memory position.
The foregoing functional assumptions or programming rules merely
represent one exemplary set, although a very representative and
practical, preferred set, which may be made and implemented by the
logical design of the electronic modules involved.
Many changes can be made to the exemplary functional assumptions
without modifying the proposed wiring scheme detailed in the
exemplary, preferred embodiment. Other changes in the assumptions
providing more simultaneous operation of various ones of the power
actuators could be implemented by adding to the number of wires
involved.
Of course, as in most, if not all, designs, certain compromises are
required, and the system may be altered to meet the particular
needs of any particular car or vehicle design. Thus, the inclusion
of a local power control module in the door may cause some space
conflict with some door designs and may require some heat-sinking.
In other designs, these aspects create no problems or are
nonexistent.
Although this invention has been shown and described with respect
to a detailed, exemplary embodiment thereof, it should be
understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in
form, detail, methodology and/or approach may be made without
departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.
* * * * *